Love lost, then rediscovered
by InnerTurmoil
Summary: The night after Pein was defeated and Hinata is questioning the actions she took. To think only a few words from Kiba would make her rethink her entire life. KibaHina oneshot


**Just a little KibaHina oneshot that i conjured up because there arent enough out there, enjoy!**

* * *

She had done it. After years of holding onto that secret and biting her tongue she had finally done it. She had confessed her love for Naruto, but was it all really worth it? Since then he's barely spoken a word to her, much less looked her way. As far as she knew he was still in love with Sakura, she could tell that the look of infatuation he wore back in the academy grew into a look that was undoubtably filled with love for her. As she sat there looking out into the night sky that hung over a demolished village she questioned the actions she took only mere hours earlier. She had nearly died protecting the person she loved and cared for most in the world but yet he acted like nothing had happened, as if she never even said a thing. Was all that she had been chasing after all these years been for nothing? The longer she sat there more memories came to her of times when he completely ignored her or seemed to have even forgotten she existed. Her eyes filled with sorrow but no tears. She heard soft footsteps behind her, she turned to see none other than her teammate and longtime friend, Kiba.

"Hey what're you doing sitting here all by yourself?" He said as he sat down next to her.

"Nothing just...thinking." She replied as he tore her gaze away from the sky and into the giant crater where the village once was.

"Ah I see, well when you're done 'thinking' everyone is having a celebration for Naruto. Just thought I'd give you a heads up." He stood up and turned to leave.

"You know," she heard his footsteps stop. "I heard about what happened with Pein."

She turned her eyes towards him but her head stayed in place.

"Look, don't let this thing with Naruto get you down. Actually I'm surprised how confident you were, well I guess that's what happens when you're in love." He smiled and left her in the still of the night, his words still ringing in her head.

He was the same as always, like always he read her like a book. His presence always made her feel happy, even when he teased her about Naruto she would eventually find herself laughing along with him. Looking back on all of her experiences with both him and Shino on team 8 she realized how much they had both done for her, especially Kiba. He always pushed her to do better, cared about her well being, and gave her the same confidence that she had around Naruto. The only difference was that she had never known him well before the formation of team 8, maybe if she had she would've seen how similar he was to Naruto earlier. Another difference was that Kiba acknowledged her far more often than Naruto ever did. She had waited years for Naruto, she swallowed every attempt to tell him her true feelings, but were they ever true from the start? Flashbacks ran through her head like a movie, her fussing over Naruto while Kiba encouraged her to stay strong. Naruto cheering her on at the Chuunin exams then Kiba worrying about her fighting Neji. All of these and many more, Kiba was there for everything while Naruto only saw little snippets of how much she had grown, let alone be a part of her growth. She heard another pair of footsteps approach her from behind, it was Naruto.

"Hey Hinata, can we talk?" He asked seriously.

She nodded, for some reason the usual butterflies that would appear in her stomach at even the sight of him were absent. The difficulty to speak and the rush of heat to her face had vanished.

"I just want to say thanks for saving me back there and I'm sorry." She knew what was happening, he would say that he could not return her feelings.

"I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way about you and for putting you through all of that." He looked down.

She knew that Naruto had a kind heart and was truly sorry but she knew that he was only doing this just to give her a reply, and that's it.

"It's alright Naruto, I acted on my own decision and accepted the consequences but somewhere in me knew that you didn't return my feelings and...I'm ok with it." Even though her back was to him she could tell he was surprised.  
"All these years of chasing after you, all these years of worrying about you, made me so blind to what was around me. You've finally achieved your dream of becoming acknowledged by the village, you've moved on and...I think it's time that I move on as well."

Without saying another word she walked away. She felt as if a huge burden was lifted off her chest, instead of going to the celebration for Naruto she went home, or at least the tent she temporary called home.

* * *

Kiba hoped he had cheered Hinata up at least a little bit. He hated seeing her depressed since she was always the gentle one out of team 8. He also felt some hatred for Naruto, she had nearly died for him and he's still an idiot for not accepting her. Instead he still loves someone who is in love with someone else, then again so was he. Soon after they had become a team he was drawn to her, she seemed so fragile. As soon as he found out she loved Naruto he was both delighted and disappointed, for obvious reasons he wished that she had fallen for him but on the other hand he took joy out of teasing her constantly, it brought him joy to see her face flush such a bright red. She had grown from such a nervous little girl to a slightly less nervous but more confident person, he had mentally thanked Naruto for giving her something to chase after and to live up to. But now everything was gone, Hinata was crushed and it was his fault, he is too dim to realize how amazing she is, he is so oblivious to see how much she loves him, he is such an idiot for rejecting her, but she was so blind to see how much HE loved her. He changed his mind about going to the celebration for Naruto and headed back to his tent, which was directly across from Hinata's, just as he was about to go in she heard someone call his name.

"Kiba!" He turned to see Hinata running towards him with a smile on her face. She stopped in front of him with hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"Well, looks like someone is feeling better." He said putting on a smile.

He nodded her head, "Thanks to you that I feel like I've come to terms with Naruto's feelings, thank you." She bowed.

"That's what friends are for right?" He smiled bigger. He looked at her and thought about how the moonlight made her smile even more beautiful. Right then and there he wanted to pour his heart out to her and tell her everything, how he had loved her for all that time. He was ready to beg for her love, but there was a lump in his throat and butterflies in his stomach that prevented him from doing so.

"Goodnight Kiba." She smiled as she disappeared into her tent. Kiba turned to enter his tent, he lied down on his bed and drifted to sleep but not before one last thought traveled through his head.

_I love you...Hinata..._

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After she had said goodnight to Kiba she sat in her tent in silence. There was no doubt about it anymore, she loved him, but then she thought "what if the same things happen with him?" She knew that she didnt want to go through that pain again, right now Naruto was at the celebration of his success and probably forgot their talk that took place not even an hour before. She wanted to love Kiba but she was so afraid of what might happen later if she did. She lied down and clutched her pillow trying to sleep, the one name that kept popping up in her head kept her awake until she finally gave in to what she had been arguing with herself about all night.

_I DO love you...Kiba..._


End file.
